Pump mechanism.



NI. E. LAYNE.

PUMP MECHANISIVI.

APPLICATION FILED IULY I9-, I|9I6. 1 ,272,68I Patented 31113716, 191s.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

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Nl. E. LAYNE..

PUMP MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED, IuLY I9. 191e.

1 ,27 2,68 l Patented July I6, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented my 16, 191s.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3 Ma/orf au m E,

MTA/55s:

M. E. 1mm-g. PUMP MECHANISIVI.

APPLICATION FILED JULY I9. ISISy l ,2?28 1 Patented July 16, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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MAHLON E. LAYNE, F HOUSTON, TEXAS.

PUMP MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented July 16, 1g18 Application ledJ' uly 19, 1916. Serial No. 110,012.

To all whomz't may concern:

. Be it known that I, MAHLON E. LAYNE,

a citizen of the United States, residing atl the pump stock castings 14,which are provided with` discharge passages, and between whlch therunners-or impellers are lo- I Houston, in the county of Harrisand Stateseated; and the tubing 13 which connects the of Texas, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements 1n Pump Mechanism,

Aof which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to well pumps, and has reference particularly topumps and to the means for lubricating and protecting -the same.Theprincipal objects of my invention are: the provision of an improvedmeans for lubricating the pump; the provision of means for equalizingpressure conditions on and about" the various bearings in order toprevent water passing through the bearings; and the provision of meanswhereby the bearings are protected from sand and other foreignsubstances.

The foregoing, together with such other objects as may hereinafterappear or are incident to my invention, I attain by means of aconstruction, certain embodiments of which I have shown in theaccompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a sectional view takenthrough a well and showing the general arrangement of the pumpingapparatus therein; Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of. amulti-'stage pump such as-shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectiontaken through the pump; Fig. 4 is a sectional view of one of the novelfeatures of my invention; Fig. 5 is an enlarged showing of certain ofthe details of the pump; Fig. 6 illustrates a modification of thestructure of Fig. 3; and Fig. 7 is a partial vertical section through amodified form of pump embodying my invention.

Referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that I have therein shown a deepWell pump apparatus, the pit of the well being designated by the numeral7, the well casing by the numeral 8, the lower portion 9 of the casingbeing perforated in the water bearing strata. Suspended from the framing10 is the discharge casing 11, which is comprised of a lurality ofsections suitably joined together. he pump proper, which is of themultistage type, is indicated by the letter A, a portion of the pumpbeing shown on an enlarged scale in Fig. 3. From inspection of thisfigure and also of Fig. 2, it will be noted that the pump casing issecured to the discharge casing 11 by means of a neck casting 12. Thepump comprises the pump runners or impellers 15, keyed to the stub shaft17;

castings. Certain of the stages are suitably spaced apart by providingone or more of the castings 14 with a long neck 16, or by some otherformof spacing means. The discharge p/assages connecting these stages areformed in the parts 14, 16, and 15a, the last preferably being anextension of the runners 15, next above. This extension 15 dependswithinthe neck 16 and rests upon the top of the corresponding casting 14, thelwer edge being notched to provide the passages 19 for the purposehereinafter stated.

In order to properly maintain the alinement of the stub shaft duringoperation, I provide a bushing 18 which has an outside bearing on theextension 15a and is threaded into the stationary casting 14 of whichthe neck 16 forms a part. The bearing is 1ubricated by means of a pipe2O leading from the surface of the ground and connected as indicated inFig. 3 to the passage 21 in the bushing, a space being provided abovethe upper end of the bushing so that the oil may penetrate both to theinside and outside surfaces of the bushing. The runner 15 above thebushing preferably fits the shaft, with such tightness that no leakagecan occur upward between the runner and the shaft. The lower end of thebushing is provided with a series of passages 22 (Fig. 5) so thatsubstantially the same water pressure is appliedy to the bea-ringsurface between the bushing and the shaft and the bearing surfacebetween the bushing and thc vextension or housing 15a,

The purpose of this arrangement is to equalize the pressure at the.bearing surfaces inside and outside the bushing. With a centrifugalpump there is a tendency to produce a slight suction at the point marked15b (Fig. 3) between the lower surface of the casing member 14 and theupper surface of the runner 1 5, while in thepassage between the runnersor impellers and opposite the passages 19, there is a substantialpressure so that if the passages 22 were not provided there would be atendency of the water to How in at the passages 19 upward between theouter surface ofthe bushing and the inner surface of the extension orhousing 15, and then downward along the shaft. This circulation wouldnecessarily carry in since the pressures at lthe two bearing surfacesofthe bushing are equalized. `The in-j vilow of oil through the passage22 and to 'the bearing surfaces ofthe bushing alsov tends to keepout-the water and foreign substances.

The bushing also serves to protect the.v

A bearing surface between the casing member provision of the bushing notonly blocks 14 and the shaft 17 which turns in such casing member.Heretofore the casing member and shaft have worn'rapidly at this pointbecause of the eXposureto sand and Water; and because of the circulationtendency along the shaft heretofore referred to. The

this circulation, but protects the bearing in the casing member 14 inanother way, and due to the Ifact that the bushing 18 assumes the workof supporting thel shaft. The bearing work between the shaft and casingmember 14 is therefore reduced to a minimum and the Wear correspondinglyreduced.

. It will of course be understood that. this bushing construction may beused in pumps having anynumber of impellers and having anytxnumber of'stages wit the proper number'of bearings, the construction of Fig. 3and those of Figs. 6 and 7 being merely illustrative of a number of theapplications of the invention'which is of broad scope, as will beapparent by reference to the claims. My invention also contemplatestheuse of the construction, wherefeasible, in other relations aside frompump constructions.

The manner of supporting the length of the pipe 20 is shown in Fig.`4,in which fig-y -ure is also shown the arrangement of the pump shaft 17,the bottom section of which is the stub or runner shaft 17. The pumpshaft comprises a plurality of sections, connected by threaded collars23, which are supported on bearing blocks 24 arranged at correspondingintervals. The blocks 24 are supported in the jointed shaft casing 25.The shaft casing excludes the Water and sand during operation andthereby protects the shafting and bearings; it serves as a support forthe bearings, thereby preventing whipping of the line shaft; and itserves as a means for lubricating the bearings, the oil being admittedat the-top through the pipe 26, and working down from bearing to bearingto the pump neck.

Fig. 6 illustrates a modification of the inventionwherein the housingmember 27 corresponding to .the extension or housing 15a, is madeseparate from the runner 28 immediately above. course keyed to the shaft29 so that it turns with it, and the function accomplished is the sameas in the construction of Fig. 3, the latter construction beingpreferred be- The housingis of cause .itis a simpler and'more desirableconstruction to make vthe runnerv15 and ex tension 15a in one piece..Thebushing 30 is y other form of construction. The construction inother respects being the same as Fig'. 3, no further description isnecessary.

Fig. 7 illustrates the application ofthe invention to a different typeof pump useful for other purposes and particularly adapted forminedrainage or city-water works or. other locatlons where there is roomto admlt cf this structure. The hydraulic loadl in vvthistype ofAconstruction -is balanced. Bal# f anced constructions of this generaltype are old,`kbut my invention `as applied thereto 'is new and myconstructioneliminates the vnecessity for usinga stuiiing boX betweenthe stages as has heretofore been the case,'1v

the bearing 34; 39.is the. passage leading from the lower set ofimpellers to the upper set of impellers; 40 is the discharge passageleading from the Iimpellers 38; and- 41 is the oil supply pipe whichleads to the passage 42 in the bearing 34. The runners 38 are providedWith the extension or housing 43 bearing upon the `outer surface of thebushing or bearing 34 and the pressure on the inner and outer surfacesof the bushing or bearing 34 are equalized by means of the passages 44correspondingto the passages 22 in the'construction of Fig. 3. seen thatthe function and utility of the construction as applied to this type ofvpump is the same as that in the construction of'Fig. 3, and that thebushing orbearing acts as l a stuiiing box between the upper and lowersections of the pump. The arrows indicate the path of the water throughthe pump .avoided by omitting the lubrication even though the utility isconsiderably lessened.

I claim:

1. The-combination in a centrifugal pump l' having a plurality ofstages, of a bearing for the driving shaft of the pump located betweenstages, said bearing being providedare the runners secured to the shaft324 above It will be with means for substantially equalizing thepressure on the inside and outside of said bearing.

2. The combination in a centrifugal pump having a plurality of stages,of a casing member between stages, a driving shaft, a

vbearing for the driving shaft carried in said casing member andextending within the rotating part of one of the stages and means forbalancing pressure conditions around said bearing.

` ing lying in 3. The combination in a centrifugal pump, of a pair ofimpellers, a casing member located therebetween, a driving shaft forsaid impellers extending through the casing member, a bushing mounted insaid casing member and providing a bearing for the shaft and a bearingfor one of the impellers, and means for balancing Pressure conditionsaround 'said bushing.

4. The combination in a centrifugal pump', of a pair of impellers, acasing member therebetween, a driving shaft for said casing memberproviding a bearing *for the giving access to the inner and ter pressurein the pump lubricant to the end of the bearouter surfaces of thebearing at a point relmote from the end of the bearing in the saidrotating part.

6. The combination in a centrifugal pump having a plurality of stagesland impellers spaced apart, a drivingshaft carrying the impellers, arelatively fixed casing between the impellers, a bushing mounted at oneend in the casing and surrounding the shaft, a housing member mounted torotate with the shaft and fitting over the free end of the bushing, andmeans giving access of substantially the same water pressure .in thepumpto the inner and outer bearing surfaces of the bushing. 1 A

7. The combination in a centrifugal pump having a plurality of stagesand impellers spaced apart, a driving -shaft carrying the impellers, arelatively fixed casingl between the impellers, va bushing mounted atone end in the casing and surrounding the shaft, a housing mel bermounted to rotate with the Vshaft and fitting over the free end of thebushing, and means whereby the water pressure on 'the inner and outersurfaces of the bushing are balanced, thereby 'preventinga circulationof fluid along the said surfaces. f

8. In a centrifugal pump the combination of a pump casing, a rotaryshaft mounted therein and provided with one or more impellers, a bearingfor the shaft adjacent the impeller element having an end open andprovided with means for equalizing pressure on the outside ing.

A "f oNE. LAYNE. A

and inside of said bear-

